BLM - Sunfair Dry Lake

Camp Review:

• I found this spot on freecampsites.net.

• This spot was a dry lake bed that sat 20 minutes outside the Joshua Tree National Park entrance.

• The lake bed was a large place, so everyone had hundreds of feet of the lake bed to themselves.

• It was my first time camping on a dry lake bed. The flat ground was awesome as I did not need to level the truck, but it also meant that the winds were strong on the second night we were there.

• Although there were no trees or bushes between the campsites, I did not notice anyone being obnoxious or too loud. Some cars were attempting to do donuts at night, but it wasn’t too late at night.

• I had two bars of 5G signal (Verizon) that was stable and fast.

What I Learned

• The winds were so strong on the second night that Louie staked in their tent on the second night. While they were setting up their tent, an empty tent blew by with the owner strolling after it. We did not see the tent or the owner come back.

Friends

• I camped here with Cassie and Louie. It was Cassie’s first time camping in a while and her first time camping in my truck camper (or any truck camper). She was awesome helping out with preparing dinner and setting up the camper—I was grateful that she came along. Louie slept in their tent next to the truck for both nights and they got to test out their sleeping pad and bag. They got their setup dialed in on their second night and slept well.

 

What Happened?

After an ice climbing trip was called off due to an elevated risk of avalanche, Cassie, Louie, and I decided to go to Joshua Tree instead. It was Louie’s first time in Joshua Tree; Cassie and I had been there separately, but not for rock climbing.

Even with all our stoke, we arrived tired at around 2 AM on Saturday after an eight-hour drive down to Joshua Tree from San Jose. We woke up surprisingly refreshed the next morning and headed off to climb in Joshua Tree. We then came back to the lake for a windy, second night.

Cassie and I cooked inside the camper and we made some simple but delicious sourdough Impossible burgers and a salad. Louie joined us in the camper until the winds mysteriously died off and we enjoyed the night sky for a few minutes before we brushed our teeth and went to sleep.

On Sunday morning, we woke up half an hour before sunrise and drove into Joshua Tree to enjoy a morning of bouldering before heading back to San Jose.